Concealed windshield wiper system

ABSTRACT

A motor vehicle includes a transversely extending hinged cowl panel adjacent the lower edge of the windshield for concealing therebelow the windshield wiper arms and blades when parked. The hinged cover or cowl panel is movable from a closed position when the wipers are parked to an open position when the wipers are operating. A fluid pressure windshield wiper motor oscillates the wiper arms and blades through a linkage transmission. The motor includes an auxiliary linearly reciprocating drive shaft for moving the cowl panel to open position when the wiper motor is started before the arms and blades move out of parked position and to closed position when the wiper motor is switched off following movement of the wiper arms and blades to a depressed park position. The linearly reciprocating drive shaft is coupled to the hinged cowl panel through a releasable coupling assembly which can be uncoupled to permit manual movement of the cowl panel to an extreme open detent position for access to the equipment stowed therebelow. The coupling assembly is provided with an intermediate detent position for returning the cowl to a position to permit wiper operation in case of failure of the cowl retracting mechanism.

United States Patent 1 Papadatos et al.

[451 May 22, 1973 [54] CONCEALED WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM [73] Assignee:Trico Products Corporation, Buffalo,N.Y.

[22] Filed: July 2, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 159,255

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 12,627, Feb. 19,1970, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. ..74/99, 15/250.l9, 49/139 [51] Int. Cl ..F16h 21/44 [58]Field of Search ..74/99, 625; 49/139, 49/140; l5/250.19

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,162,253 11/1915 Richard..74/625 1,858,624 5/1932 Hess et al. ..74/625 2,394,384 2/1946Rorstmann 74/625 2,761,330 9/1956 Reichert 74/625 2,828,6'3 l 4/1958Nichols ..74/625 3,121,902 2/1964 Massoll 15/250. 19 3,314,195 4/1967Ziegler t ..l5/250.l9 12/ l 968 Goodale ..49/349 PrimaryExaminer-Charles J. Myhre Assistant ExaminerWesley S. Ratliff, Jr.Attorney-E. Herbert Liss [57] ABSTRACT A motor vehicle includes atransversely extending hinged cowl panel adjacent the lower edge of thewindshield for concealing therebelow the windshield wiper arms andblades when parked. The hinged cover or cowl panel is movable from aclosed position when the wipers are parked to an open position when thewipers are operating. A fluid pressure windshield wiper motor oscillatesthe wiper arms and blades through a linkage transmission. The motorincludes an auxiliary linearly reciprocating drive shaft for moving thecowl panel to open position when the wiper motor is started before thearms and blades move out of parked position and to closed position whenthe wiper motor is switched off following movement of the wiper arms andblades to a depressed park position. The linearly reciprocating driveshaft is coupled to the hinged cowl panel through a releasable couplingassembly which can be uncoupled to permit manual movement of the cowlpanel to an extreme open detent position for access to the equipmentstowed therebelow. The coupling assembly is provided with anintermediate detent position for returning the cowl to a position topermit wiper operation in case of failure of the cowl retractingmechanism.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PATENT W22 I973 SHEET 1 BF 3 INVENTOR.

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RAYMOND ADE/BEL and WILLIAM C- R/ESTER- A3 TTORNEX CONCEALED WINDSHIELDWIPER SYSTEM This is a division of application Ser. No. 12,627 filedFeb. 19, 1970, now US. Pat. No. 3,619,847.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to apparatus forconcealing retractable mechanisms and particularly to improved apparatusfor concealing windshield cleaning mechanisms when not in use.

Heretofore complex linkage and gearing systems have been developed foractuating a cover panel for an access opening to conceal apparatus whichis movable from a concealed inoperative position beneath a hinged coverpanel to an external operative position. Proper sequential operation toassure coordinated movement of the cover panel with respect to themovable apparatus has been accomplished through linkage mechanismconnecting the driving means with the cover panel.

For many applications it is essential to retain the cover panel securelyin an open or closed position and it is desirable to provide for manualmanipulation for repairor replacement of expendable parts of theoperating apparatus. This is particularly true for example in concealedwindshield cleaning mechanisms for motor vehicles which are stowedbeneath a cover panel formed by a hinged cowl panel. It would be unsafeand distracting to the operator to have the cowl panel flapping orvibrating while the car is in motion. In such an application it isadvantageous to provide means for securely retaining the cowl panel inopen or closed position as well as for readily releasing the cowl panelto permit manual opening thereof for replacement of wiper blades andwiper arms.

The complex linkage and gearing systems which have been providedpreclude achievement ofboth stability and ready releasability. In othersystems spring hinges employing heavy overcenter springs are provided toeffect stability. In some known systems separate motors are provided foroperating the cover panel and for driving the apparatus. The use ofheavy over-center springs requires a large motor to actuate and resultsin noisy operation. The use of a separate motor for operating the coverpanels increases the cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The novel apparatus of the present inventionutilizes a single fluid motor to actuate the concealed apparatus and thehinged cover panel. It comprises a motor having main operating outputshaft which, through a linkage transmission, operates the wipers to andfro across an overlapping arcuate path on the wind-shield. The motor isalso equipped with an auxiliary linearly reciprocating output shaftwhich operates through a simplified coupling mechanism to drive the cowlpanel to an open position when the motor is switched on but before thewipers move to their operative position. The auxiliary output shaftremains in this position holding the cowl stable while the wipers areoperating. When the motor is switched off the wipers are driven to adepressed parked position and subsequently the auxiliary shaft moves thecowl panel to a closed position and positively retains it in the closedposition. The coupling mechanism comprises a drive lever releasablylatched to a keeper element through a manually actuatable latchingelement. When the latching element is actuated the cowl panel can bemanually moved to an extreme open detent position for repair andreplacement of parts of the concealed apparatus and can also be manuallyopened to an intermediate detent position so that the cowl panel can beretained in suitable operative position if for any reason the motorizedoperation fails. Camming means are also provided on the keeper to permitthe cowl panel to be closed manually.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide improvedapparatus for concealing retractable mechanisms which is simple andpermits either motorized or manual operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus forconcealing retractable mechanism which utilizes a single motor both foractuating a cover panel and for operating the concealed mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial perspective viewof a motor vehicle incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the latch mechanism of the presentinvention in closed position; 7

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 with the cow] panel inopen position;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a motor suitable for use in theinvention the motor being illustrated runnin in a clockwise direction;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a motor similar to FIG. 4, the motorbeing illustrated running in a counterclockwise direction; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a motor similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, themotor being illustrated in a parked position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a portionof a vehicle 10 is shown having a windshield 12. The vehicle includes acowl panel 14 extending forwardly from the windshield 12. The cowl panel14 is hinged to firewall 16 by means of a pair of spaced apart hinges18. The hinges 18 include a movable hinge leaf 18a secured to the cowlpanel 14 and a stationary hinge leaf 18b secured to a body section. Thelower edge of the windshield 12 extends beyond the cowl panel 14 toprovide for storage of the windshield wiper mechanism in a concealedposition between a horizontal surface 20 of the firewall and the cowlpanel 14. A windshield cleaning mechanism comprises a pair of wiperblades 22 carried by wiper arms 24. The wiper arms have spring hingeconnected mounting heads (not shown) such that the blades 22 aremaintained in engagement with the windshield 12 under pressure. Thewiper blades 22 are movable throughout their running strokes across theouter surface of the windshield l2 and are movable from the end of theirrunning stroke position to a depressed parked position beyond theirrunning range below the cowl panel 14 when not in use.

The wiper blade and arm assemblies are oscillated conjointly by a fluidpressure wiper motor 26 suitably attached to the firewall of thevehicle. The motor 26 includes an oscillating output shaft 27 coupledthrough a linkage assembly 30 to a pair of spaced apart pivot shafts 28suitable journaled in the firewall 16 adjacent the lower edge of thewindshield. The pivot shafts 28 carry the wiper arm mounting heads. Anauxiliary linearly reciprocating output shaft 32 of the motor 26 ispivotally secured at its end to the free end of an elongate drive lever34 of a coupling assembly 36 by a clevis 38.

A torsion bar or rod 42 extends between the hinges I8 and is pivotallymounted at its ends to stationary hinge leaf 13b. Movable hinge leaf 18ais fixed to the rod 42 for movement therewith. Thus rod 42 forms apivotal axis for cowl panel 14. The coupling assembly 36 is mounted onthe rod intermediate the hinges 18 and adjacent the motor 26. The drivelever 34 extends radially from the torsion bar 42 and is secured theretofor pivotal movement about the axis of torsion bar 42. It includes anelongate arm 44 to which the clevis 38 is pivotally secured adjacent thefree end thereof. A shorter arm 46 extends laterally from the arm 44adjacent the end of the arm 44 which is mounted on the torsion bar 42.In side-by-side relationship, closely adjacent the drive lever 34 akeeper 48 is rigidly secured to theshaft 42 and is rotatable therewith.Keeper 48 includes a slot 50 and a cam surface 52 extending therefrom.The cam surface includes a notch or first detent position 54 and a firstramp 56 extending from the notch 54 to a second ramp 58 which terminatesin a depression 60. A manually actuated latch lever 62 is pivotedintermediate its ends on a transverse axis 64 adjacent the end of arm 46of drive lever 34. The axis 64 is formed by a headed pivot pin 66 whichextends laterally outwardly from the drive lever 34 and receivesintermediate its headed end the drive lever 34 of torsion spring 68. Thetorsion spring 68 has one end bearing against the upper surface ofmanually actuated latch lever 62 and its other end bearing on arm 46 ofdrive lever 34. The manually actuated lever 62 thus tends to rotatecounterclockwise about its axis 64 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. At one endthe latch lever 62 has formed thereon a finger tab 70 and at its otherend a laterally extending pin 72. The laterally extending pin 72 extendsthrough an arcuate slot 74 in drive lever 34; the

arcuate slot is concentric with axis 64. When the pin 72 is aligned withnotch 50 of keeper 48 the drive lever and rod 42 together with movablehinge leaves 18a and cowl panel 14 are coupled for movement about theaxis of rod 42. The pin 72 is biased by the torsion spring 68 to engagenotch 50 when it is in alignment therewith. When the pin 72 is out ofalignment with notch 50 the pin is biased against the cam surface 52 andas the pin moves along the cam surface 52 it is biased into engagementwith the notch 54 to hold the cowl panel in an operating position orinto engagement with depression 60 to retain the cowl panel 14 in afully open position for access to the windshield cleaning mechanism. Thelatch lever 62 can be manually actuated in a clockwise direction aboutaxis 64 against the bias of torsion spring 68. Under normal operatingcircumstances, however, the pin 72 is engaged in notch 50 of keeper 48.

The motor 26 may be of the type shown and described in greater detail inapplication Ser. No. 12,626 by Anthony R. D'Alba, filed Feb. 19, 1970,now U. S. Pat. No. 3,645,168 issued Feb. 29, 1972 and assigned to theassignee of the present invention.

The motor 26, illustrated diagramatically in FIGS. 4, and 6, is a fluidpressure type motor comprising a housing 76 having a control valvehousing section 78 in which a control valve assembly 80 is slideablyreceived,

a reversal valve housing section 82 in which a shuttle type reversalvalve 84 is slideably received and a motor piston housing section 86.The motor piston housing section 86 includes a main piston chamber 90and an auxiliary piston chamber or cylinder 40. A vane type primarypiston 92 oscillates in an arcuate path in the main chamber 90 and alinearly reciprocating secondary piston 41 is disposed in the auxiliarychamber 40. The primary piston 92 is secured to oscillating output shaft27. Output shaft 27 is coupled through a linkage assembly 30 to a pairof spaced apart pivot shafts 28 suitably journaled in the firewall 16adjacent the lower edge of the windshield. The pivot shafts carry thewiper arms 24. Secured to the secondary piston 41 is a shaft 32 having aclevis 38 which is pivotally secured to the free end of elongate drivelever 34 of coupling assembly 36. The motor housing includes an inletport 51 and a discharge or exhaust port 53.

When the motor is in parked position shown in FIG. 6 pump 55 draws fluidfrom a source or reservoir 57 (FIG. 4) through inlet 51. The fluidcirculates through control valve housing 78 through control valveassembly 80 to discharge port 53 and returns to reservoir 57. It alsoflows through a duct 59 and reversal valve housing section 82 betweenlands 61 and 63 of reversal valve 84 and thence through duct 65 to theleft side of piston 92 as seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Pressurized fluidalso flows through a branch conduit 65' to the upper side of piston 41in auxiliary chamber 40. Fluid is exhausted from the right side ofpiston 92 through a duct 67 to reversal valve housing section 82 betweenlands 63 and 69 of reversal valve 84 and thence through a duct 71through control housing section 78 to discharge port 53. At the sametime fluid is exhausted from the lower side of piston 41 in auxiliarychamber 40 through a conduit 73, sequence valve and conduit 67' whichjoins conduit 67. Thus the piston 92 is retained in its parked positionbeyond the running range, maintaining normally closed sequence valve 75in an open position. Sequence valve 75 is normally biased to closedposition by spring 75. Piston 41 and shaft 32 are retracted, therebyretaining the cowl panel 14 closed. Pressurized fluid also flows fromthe inlet 51 through control valve housing section 78 and to conduits 77and through pilot valve 79, then through conduit 81 to the right side ofreversal valve 84. The pressurized fluid further flows through conduit83, pilot valve 79 and conduit 85 to the left side of reversal valve 82,thus balancing reversal valve 82 to maintain it in the position shown inFIG. 6.

When the lever. 87 is manipulated through a manual control (not shown)to the position shown in FIG. 4, the control valve assembly moves to theposition seen in FIG. 4 and fluid flows through the control valvehousing section 78, the conduit 89 and through ball check valve 91 tochamber 93, moving pressure regulating piston 95, against the force ofspring 97. This causes bypass valve of control valve assembly 80 toclose, thereby increasing inlet pressure. Furthermore, conduit 83 opensto exhaust port 53 through the control valve assembly 80 and the chamberto the right of land 96, thus the pressure on the left side of reversalvalve 84 drops to exhaust value near zero and the reversal valve shiftsto the position seen in FIG. 4 whereby duct 67 now communicates withinlet port 51 through reversal valve housing section 82 between lands 63and 69 and through duct 59 permitting pressurized fluid to flow to theright side of piston 92 and through sequence valve 75 and conduit 73 toauxiliary chamber 40 at the lower side of secondary piston 41. Duct 65now communicates with the exhaust port 53 exhausting chamber 90 to theleft of piston 92 and through conduit 65' exhausting the portion ofauxiliary chamber 40 above piston 41, thus moving the piston 41 andshaft 32 to an extended position, opening cowl panel 14. The piston 92then moves clockwise. When it leaves its depressed parked position itpermits sequence valve 75 to move to its normally biased closedposition. Pressurized fluid is now trapped between piston 41 andsequence valve 75 to thereby retain the shaft 32 in its extendedposition until the piston 43 again returns to its parked positioncausing sequence valve 75 to open.

The piston 92 will continue to move clockwise until the flat portion 27'of shaft 27 engages tooth 79 of pilot valve 79 shifting the pilot valve79 to the piston seen in FIG. 5. When the pilot valve shifts to theposition seen in FIG. 5 the pressurized fluid and exhaust fluid areredirected to cause reversal valve 84 to move to the position seen inFIGS. 5 and 6, thereby routing the fluid so as to cause piston 92 tomove counterclockwise (FIG. 5). The counterclockwise movement continuesuntil flat 27 of shaft 27 engages tooth 79 of pilot valve 79 causing itto shift to the position seen in FIG. 4. When the pilot valve 79 shiftsreversal valve 84 also shifts to the FIG. 4 position causing piston 92to reverse and to move clockwise. This occurs before the piston 92engages the stem of sequence valve 75; therefore, the shaft 32 remainsextended while the piston 92 oscillates in its running range.

When the lever 87 is manipulated to the parked position seen in FIG. 6the piston 92 will continue to move in a clockwise direction if it is somoving until the normal reversal takes place, as during the runningcondition; however, pressurized fluid flow to conduit 89 will beinterrupted, ball check valve 91 will close and the chamber93 will bleeddown to exhaust port 53 through the clearance between piston 95 and thewalls of the control valve section 78. The left side of reversal valve84 will be exposed to pressurized fluid; thus the reversal valve willnot shift and the piston 92 will continue to move to its parkingposition beyond the running range engaging the stem of sequence valve75, causing sequence valve 75 to open. Pressure will then be applied tothe portion of auxiliary chamber 40 above piston 41 and the portion ofauxiliary chamber below piston 41 will be exhausted in the same manneras it was in the original parked position described above, therebyretracting the piston at and shaft 32 subsequent to the parking ofpiston 92. Thus the wipers will be parked and then the cowl panel willbe closed.

It is now apparent that the shaft 32 is moved outwardly when the motor26 is switched on prior to movement of the main shaft 27 and is movedinwardly when the motor 26 is switched off after the main motor shaft 27moves to its parked position.

OPERATION Assuming the apparatus to be in its normal closed positionshown in FIG. 2 with pin 72 engaged in the notch 50 of keeper 48, themotor 26 is switched on. This will cause the drive shaft 32 to moveoutwardly from the cylinder 40, driving the drive lever 34, the keeper88 and the torsion bar 42 in a counterclockwise direction about the axisof torsion bar 42 as seen in FIG. 2. Since the rod 42 is fixed to themovable hinge 18a, the cowl will lift to a predetermined positionsufficient to permit passage of wiper arms 24 and blades 22. The wiperarms 24 and blades 22 will then move out of their depressed parkedposition and oscillate in their running range until the motor 26 isswitched off. When the motor 26 is switched off the arms 24 togetherwith blades 22 will move to their depressed parked position below thecowl panel 14 followed by movement of the shaft 32 into the cylinder 40.As the shaft 32 moves inwardly the drive lever 34 together with keeper48, rod 42, and cowl panel 14 move clockwise to a closed position. Apressure differential is maintained across the piston 41 in cylinder 40in both open and closed positions to stabilize the position of the cowl.

Now assuming that the cowl panel 14 is in closed position and it isdesired to change the wiper blades, the latch lever 62 is manuallyoperated by lifting on the tab 70 to move the lever 62 clockwise aboutthe axis 64 against the bias of spring 68 with the pin moving in thearcuate slot 74. The pin 72 thus moves out of the notch 50 and the cowlpanel 14 can be manually moved counterclockwise to the position shown inFIG. 3 with the pin 72 riding into depression 60 which provides a detentat the extreme open position. Access can now be had to the windshieldcleaning apparatus stowed below the cowl panel 14 to permit changing ofthe blades or arms or to do any work that may be necessary.

If the cowl panel is left in this position, switching'on of the motor 26will cause the drive lever to move the pin 72 along the cam surface 52down the ramps 58 and 56 until it engages notch 50, at which time themotor will drive the cowl panel to closed position. Alternately the cowlpanel M can be pushed downwardly, swinging the keeper 48 in a clockwisedirection. This causes the pin 72 to ride along the ramp 58 to the ramp56, past the notch 54, on the cam surface 52 to the notch 50. If amalfunction occurs while the cowl panel 14 is in closed position and itis desired to move the cowl panel 14 to operative position, releasingthe pin 72 from the notch 50, and the cowl panel can be movedcounterclockwise until the pin 72 engages the notch or detent 54 whichis an intermediate detent to retain the cowl panel 14 in its operativeposition. Likewise, the cowl panel 14 can be manuallypushed to thedetent 54 from the extreme open position.

Regardless of whether the panel is retained open or closed, operation ofthe motor will cause the pin 72 to ride along the cam surface 52 toengage the notch 50.

Unique apparatus has been provided for concealing retractable mechanismunder a hinged panel which utilizes a single motor for actuation of thehinged panel and the apparatus sequentially. It employs a readilyreleasable coupling between the motor output shaft and the hinged panel.The readily releasable coupling permits manual opening and closing ofthe cowl panel 14 in addition to the motorized operation. It includes anintermediate detent position for operation in case of malfunction.Although the concealing mechanism is illustrated and described for usewith a concealed windshield wiping mechanism it will of course beunderstood that in accordance with the broader aspects of the inventionthe mechanism may be used with other and different types of apparatuswhere opening or closing of a panel and sequential operation of enclosedor concealed apparatus may be required.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed for the purpose of illustration it will of course beunderstood that in its broadest aspects various modifications and otherembodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. It is to beunderstood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to the specificelement shown but in its broadest aspects it includes all equivalentembodiments and modifications which come within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a motor vehicle, a closure panel secured for pivotal movement on alongitudinal axis between a first limit position and a second limitposition; the combination comprising a shaft fixed to said panel havingits axis coincident with said longitudinal axis, a keeper fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said keeper having a plurality of detentpositions, a drive lever disposed adjacent to said keeper and having oneend thereof pivotally secured to said shaft, a motor having a linearlyreciprocable output shaft, the free end of said output shaft beingpivotally secured to the other end of said driver lever, and manuallydisengageable coupling means normally biased for effecting engagementbetween said drive lever and said keeper to cause conjoint movementthereof, said keeper being movable from one detent position to anotherwhen said output shaft is in a fixed position whereby said panel can bemoved by the output of said motor when said coupling means is engagedand manually when said coupling means is disengaged.

1. In a motor vehicle, a closure panel secured for pivotal movement on alongitudinal axis between a first limit position and a second limitposition; the combination comprising a shaft fixed to said panel havingits axis coincident with said longitudinal axis, a keeper fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said keeper having a plurality of detentpositions, a drive lever disposed adjacent to said keeper and having oneend thereof pivotally secured to said shaft, a motor having a linearlyreciprocable output shaft, the free end of said output shaft beingpivotally secured to the other end of said driver lever, and manuallydisengageable coupling means normally biased for effecting engagementbetween sAid drive lever and said keeper to cause conjoint movementthereof, said keeper being movable from one detent position to anotherwhen said output shaft is in a fixed position whereby said panel can bemoved by the output of said motor when said coupling means is engagedand manually when said coupling means is disengaged.